The Boogeyman's Birthday Present
by mat528
Summary: The Boogeyman and the Monster Under the Bed team up to wreak havoc on the Ghostbusters. Slightly AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, except for Childrense, and minor characters. Everyone else is owned by DIC, Harold Ramis and Dan Akroyd, and Columbia Pictures and any other subsidiaries. I am making no money off of this, and no infringement is intended.**

THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS: THE BOOGIEMAN'S BIRTHDAY PRESENT

CHAPTER ONE

(March 30th, 1988)

Dr. Egon Spengler dreaded birthdays! It wasn't because he was upset at blowing out another candle each March 30th. It was just that it seemed that every time he tried to celebrate one, something nasty always showed up, necessitating his putting on his ghostbusting uniform, getting Peter, Winston and Ray along with himself to deal with it. By the time anyone was finished busting the evil menace, the day was practically over.

The blonde haired scientist decided on his 31st year that he was going to nip this in the bud before anything occurred. Maybe if the gang celebrated his birthday a day late, it might throw any evil spirits off, and, he reasoned, maybe Doctor Peter Venkman Senior, Peter's con artist father, would finally sell the Brooklyn Bridge stock he'd been palming lately. He started down the stairs, thinking that he might as well share his news that morning.

On the first floor of the firehouse the Ghostbusters shared, Peter, Ray, and Winston were huddled over the breakfast table, apparently engaged in some deep conversation. Janine and Slimer were playing some sort of game with a Rubik's cube at her desk, which ended when the little green ghost got slime all over the box with the different colors.

"Slimer…!" Janine yelled at the top of her nasally voice. The red headed secretary then saw Egon coming down the stairs and said in a loud voice, "Good morning, Egon!!"

As Egon greeted Janine with his customary morning salutation, three heads snapped up from being bent over in a secret conference at the breakfast table. Peter nodded to Ray and Winston in a silent communication to change the subject. Egon walked over to the table and helped himself to a bagel and some coffee.

"Look, guys, I know you're probably planning a surprise party for me, so let me just get this off my chest: I don't want a birthday celebration of any kind this year," the lanky scientist told his friends.

"You have a birthday coming up?" Winston asked, his dark skinned face giving nothing away.

"Come on, guys, you know it's today," Egon told the other Ghostbusters. Ray looked sheepish.

"Gee, Egon…with all of the running around we've been doing, we forgot it was today," Ray said. Slimer floated over to the men and joined in, saying, "Reah…we fogot…".

"Oh…" Egon responded, not exactly sure of what else he should say.

"Why?" Peter asked. "Did you _want _us to do something for your birthday? I mean, I know we did something every other year, but we always end up with slime on our faces…" the brown haired, handsome scientist shot Slimer a look—"and you always tell us not to make a fuss, so I guess it sank into our subconscious minds and stuck."

"It…stuck…" Egon muttered, frowning. A moment later, he feigned indifference, saying, "Well, that's _good, _Peter, very…good."

"What did you want to talk to us about?" Ray chirped, his usually upbeat voice sounding more cheerful than ever.

"Nothing," Egon said. "It wasn't important." He took his bagel and coffee upstairs, deciding that the new device he was working on needed a little fine tuning. Make that _a lot _of fine tuning.

When they were certain he was out of earshot, everyone laughed. Janine said, her blue eyes following Egon's departure, "poor Egon! He looked so disappointed!" A moment later, she snickered.

"Yeah," Ray joined in, "we really slimed him, if you'll pardon the pun!" Slimer chortled with glee at the mischief the Ghostbusters had caused.

"So, are we all set? Tonight, eight-ish, at the Science Museum's new restaurant?" he asked everyone.

"Wouldn't miss this for the world!" Winston said. Janine said she seconded that, and the guys nodded in unison.

"Everybody gather there at the front entrance," Peter said. Looking at Slimer, he added, "And if you spoil this by blabbing, you'll celebrate Egon's surprise birthday in a trap, got it?" Slimer's body shook back and forth with his affirmation. For the second cake he knew he would get later after everyone else polished off the first one with Egon, he would keep extra quiet.

"Ray, you know your part, right?" Peter asked the light brown haired, fat metallurgist.

"I sure do! Wow!!" he shouted, then lowered his voice a little so that Egon couldn't overhear.

"This'll be one party he'll never forget," Ray said. The Ghostbusters tossed their dishes in the sink.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Across town, in a section of row houses near a park teeming with children, Childrense Mist, otherwise known as the "Monster under the Bed", growled. He was not having a great day; in fact, all of his days had been lackluster since the disappearance of his friend, the Boogeyman. Childrense had enjoyed the comraderie between them; the way the children would first be scared out of their gourd by his lurking about and growling under their beds, and then, when they went to hide in their closets, the Boogeyman would also frighten them.

Since the Boogeyman had been taken care of by the Ghostbusters, however, the children weren't nearly as scared, and Childrense couldn't feed on the level of fear that he craved. The monster knew he had to get his friend back…but how? He brightened as he heard the thunder of several children's feet. The sound came closer and the bedroom door was flung open a moment later. Although he only came out at night when he was at the peak of his powers, the monster listened for any opportunity to act.

Childrense saw three pairs of feet dangling in front of him. _Perfect, _he thought.

"So, check it," one boy was saying, "I got this ticket to tour the Ghostbuster's firehouse, and you guys are invited."

"Cool!" another boy was saying. The third boy pulled out a fake trap and opened it so that the boys could see the blinking lights inside.

"See?" he boasted to his friends. "I even made this! I'm gonna get the autograph on the side from my favorite 'buster: Egon Spengler!"

"Guys!!" a female adult voice called from downstairs, "pizza!!"

"Oh, boy!!" the boys said. The boy who had held his trap aloft dropped it in his excitement to beat his friends downstairs. The monster under the bed grinned when he saw the trap was wide open. Childrense's misty form crawled into the trap, and the door slammed shut behind him. Now, he would make the spirit hunters pay, especially the one who had caused him the most misery: Dr. Egon Spengler.


	2. Chapter 2

The Boogeyman's Birthday Present

CHAPTER TWO

That afternoon, the firehouse was full of activity of the normal kind as the Ghostbusters were entertaining the kids who had won a tour.

"Wow!" one little boy cried. "This is really cool!"

"I dunno…" another boy said. "I hoped we'd get to see the containment unit or somethin'."

"The containment unit is really dangerous," Ray began, but as he caught the look on the boy's faces, he relented, saying, "but…maybe there might be a way to see it. Wait here." The metallurgist went upstairs and came into the bedroom where Egon toiled on his latest invention.

"Is there a problem, Raymond?" Egon was asking. The blond scientist didn't look up from the machine, or from the notes he was scribbling. Ray knew that he was upset about something; Egon only called him by Ray's full name when he was annoyed.

"Is everything OK?" Ray asked. Egon didn't regard his friend. "I mean is there anything I can help with?"

"No," Egon responded curtly. He picked up a screwdriver and tinkered with a knob in the center of the device.

Ray picked up Egon's notebook where he had written his latest equations.

"CTM?" Ray asked, confused. Egon turned away from his fine tuning and switched from machine fixer into scientist-explaining-to-a-fellow-scientist mode.

"It stands for..." Egon started explaining. Before he could get another word in edgewise, Peter and Whinston came up the stairs.

"Hey, Ray, what's the hold up?" Peter asked. "We've got customers down there! Haven't you found what you're looking for yet?"

"Yeah, the natives are gettin' restless," Winston put in. Ray busied himself with finding what he sought. Peter studied Egon's latest invention.

The pea soup green machine was only about the size of a boom box. It had a dial in its middle with the numbers 1 through 10 on it. Below the device was an indicator, with the numbers 1-3 section displayed in a yellow color, the middle section of 4-6 in a dark green color, and the strongest section 7-10 in a red color. Beneath the dial was another, smaller one. It had the same numbers, but they ran in reverse. The side of the machine resembled something like a blaster out of a science fiction movie. There was a button beneath the gun stick which one pressed rather than turned. Peter made out the words _CTM _on the side where the dial was.

"Hey guys!!" Janine's voice called from downstairs. "Whatcha doin' up there?"

She looked at the three boys who were getting restless and shrugged, saying, "Sometimes, they can be cooped up there for hours! Get used to it." The titian haired secretary went toward the kitchen and came out with four completely frozen ice cream cones.

"In the meantime, there's always chocolate!" she told them. She handed the cones to the boys and took a big bite of the fourth one. Enticed by the smell of treats, Slimer made an appearance.

"Wow wee, is that a _ghost_?" the boy with the trap asked, excited. The other boys looked up at the floating green blob and gasped. Janine was ready for Slimer; she went to her desk and grabbed some candy bars. Slimer floated down to where she was and gobbled up the treats. He burped and rubbed his stomach happily.

"What is he?" another boy with hair color similar to Janine's asked, while the third boy, a dark skinned Mexican one asked simultaneously, "does he talk?"

"Rear, I c'n talk!" Slimer answered proudly, delighted that he was the center of attention. Janine was glad that, for once, Slimer was actually being helpful and not a nuisance. She hoped that the boys would ask her and the ghost some questions, and buy the guys upstairs some time to finish whatever the heck they were working on.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Upstairs, Peter made a comment about the words on the machine. "Sounds like the subway I took when I visited Chicago once," he said. Egon fixed him with a cold stare, but the handsome Ghostbuster was undeterred.

"Does it play music, too?" he asked. Egon gave him a withering glance.

"As I was trying to explain to Ray before I got rudely interrupted..." the blond scientist paused, pointedly looking at Dr. Venkman, "...this is known as the 'Characteristic Transferal Machine'."

"I'm not sure I like the sound of that," Winston said. "What's it do?"

"It transfers certain paranormal elements from the supernatural entity to another source that is biogenetically compatible, and then, after a very short period of time, it rearranges those characteristics so that they reappear back at the original point of origin," Egon explained.

"Brilliant, Egon," Peter said. "I can see Cryptic Speak was your first language. Now, if you could shift to English mode, we'd be grateful."

"I think I get it," Ray said. "It's a device which can shift the properties of a ghost or demon temporarily to a human and then back again, right?"

"Precisely," Egon replied. "It's not perfected yet, however."

From his vantage point, Childrense was ecstatic. The mist had become the size of a grain of salt and had drifted upstairs unnoticed by anyone in the hopes that he would hear something he could use. The Monster under The Bed had waited patiently ever since he was brought to the Ghostbusters' inner sanctum to find a way to free the Boogeyman, and also damn the four scientists at the same time. Now, he had a way. He listened with rapt attention under Ray's bed as Egon continued his explanation.

"But why would you do that, my man?" Winston asked, worried that Egon finally snapped.

"Well, think about it," Egon told all three Ghostbusters. "From time to time, we encounter ghosts who aren't defeated by conventional means, like traps and accelerators. Sometimes, it takes the hair of the dog that bit you to cure you."

"So, in other words, if we had some of the properties of the ghosts we try to bust, we can grab hold of 'em or something and contain them?" Peter asked. Egon nodded.

"Spengs, that's the weirdest thing I've ever heard," Dr. Venkman said, "but, knowing you, it's just crazy enough to work."

"Well, it's not quite there yet," Egon responded, glad that Peter could see the possibilities with having such a machine.

Whinston frowned and queried, "What do you mean, 'it's not quite there yet'"?

Egon pointed to the smaller knob in the center of the machine. "This enables the human host to retain partial identity so that the consciousness of the ghost won't be able to control him or her completely. But I haven't fine tuned it yet so that such a circumstance can occur free of side effects."

"You mean, once the transferal of ectoplasmic characteristics happens, their mental properties may take over the host subject, too?" Ray guessed.

"Not likin' that," Winston said.

"Which brings me to square one," Egon said. "I have to modify it so that, even when the two parties change back to their original states, their mental exchange will shift back also."

"Yeah, well..." Peter said, "you keep working on it. We'll keep the kiddies entertained." Peter went downstairs with a look on his face that said he didn't want to be anywhere _near _what Egon was working on.

Winston joined him, the same look on his face. Ray grabbed a small, wrench like device and made to leave, but he advised, "Egon, until that thing is perfected, no one will be able to use it, right?"

Egon turned the dial to _off _and activated another part of the machine. It was a hand-panel. He put his fingers to it, and both Ghostbusters watched as the machine registered his fingerprints.

"I fixed it so that it can only be activated by a hand scan from any of the four of us," he told Ray. "That way, there won't be any complications."

Ray smiled, relaxing. "C'mon," he said, "let's go see our visitors and tell the guys." Egon and Ray descended.

Childrense waited until the last footsteps of the Ghostbusters receded. When he was satisfied they were out of the way, the Monster under the Bed swirled with happiness. He drifted over to the machine and, spying an opening, floated inside. The electrical systems went wild as the mist settled over them. An eerie light pulsed from the front of the device, but then the light winked out.

The Monster under the Bed would have chortled if he had a mouth to laugh with. He had changed the machine ever-so-slightly; and, knowing the Ghostbusters, it stood to reason that Dr. Egon Spengler would be the first to tinker with the device. The moment he did, all hell would break loose if Childrense's plan continued going the way he wanted.

It was time to set in motion part two of his scheme. The mist shrank again and went downstairs.


	3. Chapter 3

THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS: THE BOOGEYMAN'S BIRTHDAY PRESENT

CHAPTER THREE

Ray and Egon joined Peter and Winston downstairs. The kids had finished munching on the ice cream treats Janine had given them, and they were bursting with curiosity about seeing the containment unit down in the basement.

After several moments, the Ghostbusters relented, with strict instructions that the boys "not touch anything". The children nodded eagerly. Childrense was happy in his hiding place under Janine's desk. He shrank into grain size a second time and got into the boy's trap. The secretary handed some glasses to the boys, saying, "watch out for the light inside the unit. It's very bright, and it could blind you if you're not used to it."

The boys put the glasses on and went down into the basement with the three scientists and Winston bringing up the rear. When they reached the containment unit, the three boys "oohheed" and "aahhddd" as they peeked inside the unit. One boy drew back in fear when he saw a familiar specter.

"I-is that the _boogeyman?" _he asked as he saw the blue haired monster with goat's feet looking at him menacingly.

"Yes, but don't worry!" Ray told him. "He's safely contained inside."

"What if he gets out?" the dark skinned one asked fearfully.

"He won't," Peter said confidently. "But, just in case, that's why we have our accelerators, and why we're constantly trying to upgrade our methods of capturing them and locking them up!"

The red headed boy pointed to Slimer, asking, "what about him?" Slimer put his green hands on the lower part of his body. He snorted, highly insulted.

"He's a good ghost. We keep around so that we can study him and learn about both good and bad spirits," Ray responded.

"Wow!!" the boys said collectively. They were so engrossed in what the Ghostbusters were saying that they failed to see the Boogeyman twitching as if he sensed a presence nearby. The spirit floated closer to the window that provided a glimpse of the outside.

_Don't worry, friend; I've got your back! _Childrense thought, even though he knew the Boogeyman couldn't hear his mental transmissions from that distance. The hard part, though, was just beginning.

The Monster Under the Bed concentrated on the boy who was nearest to the containment unit. Childrense projected fear on the lad...fear that somehow, someway, the containment unit had opened by mistake. When the Ghostbusters and his friends left the basement, the boy's eyes studied the unit. He didn't see, however, that it was safe, and that the green light was on. He saw that the red light was on and that a ghost _could _escape.

The boy opened his makeshift trap before hearing _no! Get a real one, there in the corner! You know how to open it! _Childrense projected. The boy's eyes glowed, then he totally followed the Monster Under the Bed's instructions.

"Hey, Jeremy!" one of the other boys called a moment later. "You down there?" Jeremy's eyes blinked slowly as they were once again normal. He glanced down and saw a real trap in his hands.

_Oh, gosh! _He thought. _Where did __**that **__come from? _"I lost my trap," Jeremy shouted. Ray, Egon and Peter came downstairs.

"You really shouldn't be down here by yourself," Egon admonished. Jeremy nodded in agreement.

"It's creepy down here without you three," he agreed. Ray saw the boy's fake trap. He handed it to him and ruffled Jeremy's hair. As the others and the kid went upstairs, the red haired scientist spied something out of the corner of his eye. One of the fuses by the trap looked out of place, as though it had been tampered with. A quick check of the unit indicated that the door was locked; the green light was on, signifying total containment of the spirits inside; and seemingly, all the ghosts on the indicator were safely tucked away.

_Just the same, I should check this after our guests leave, _Ray thought, mentally adding, _just to be on the safe side. _

"Hey, Ray!" Peter called from upstairs. "Time for autographs! The boys have to go!"

Ray cast one more doubtful look at the trap before calling back, "Coming, Peter!" He ran up the stairs two at a time with the trap that had been sabotaged.

On the second level of the firehouse, Childrense drifted over to the machine and turned it on, courtesy of his alterations. There wasn't much time before the trap with the "passenger" inside it was checked. The machine hummed, the ectoplasmic indicator jumping to "9".

Ray went upstairs with the trap in his hand, studying it. He saw that it was full, but when he opened it, he didn't see anything emerging.

Childrense was ecstatic! He had converted his friend into a tiny mist, like he was...too small to be detected by human eyes. Now, if Egon Spengler would come, just as the Monster under the Bed suspected he would if the scientist knew the machine was on.

"Hey, Egon!!" Ray called. He fumbled with the machine, trying to get it to shut down, but he couldn't. He tried scanning his fingerprints, but to no avail.

Egon ran upstairs, asking, "Yes, Ray?" Ray looked at his friend with worry in his eyes.

"There's something wrong with the CTM!" the titian haired Ghostbuster reported. Egon turned dials and pressed buttons. After a moment of fixing and checking, he turned to his colleague.

"Did you touch anything?" he asked Ray.

Ray shook his head, saying, "No, honest! That's why I called you. I didn't want to take a chance that I'd do something wrong."

"Okay," Egon said, tinkering with the device. He checked a notebook by the machine and selected a screwdriver from the table.

"I'll get some more tools," Ray said, going downstairs. When Egon was alone, Childrense knew he that it was now or never. Before the blonde scientist could piece together what was happening, a strange blue light enveloped him and expanded to include the room. When the light disappeared, Egon went downstairs.

"So, is that thing fixed?" Winston wanted to know. "'Cause that would be a major disaster if it weren't."

Egon said, "I managed to repair it so that it should work normally now." He held up the trap, adding, "It's a good thing Ray decided to check the trap. One of the ghosts was trying to escape! I'm going to place him back in the containment unit."

"In the meantime," Ray said, "I'll check the fuse box. It seems that something is loose there. It doesn't look major, but then you never know."

"I'll check that since I'm headed down there anyway," Egon told him.

Ray said, "thanks! Let me know if you need any help, or something!"

"Will do," Egon said, going to the unit. When he got there, he put the trap into the containment block and flushed its contents so that the trapped entity was inside. The blond haired scientist went upstairs, thinking, _happy birthday._


	4. Chapter 4

THE BOOGEYMAN'S BIRTHDAY PRESENT, CHAPTER FOUR

Ray, Peter, Winston and Janine were standing in front of the Science Museum's restaurant, The Planetaruim. The red haired secretary had gone all out for the occasion, checking the golden highlights in her hair and her curls in a compact. She fussed with her pink lipstick before putting her makeup promptly back in her purse.

"Dolling yourself up for Egon, eh Janine?" Peter asked, adjusting the tie around his neck.

"Maybe, maybe not," Janine retorted, trying to play things cool. She hoped the blond scientist would notice her green chiffon dress, the only one she had, in fact. She prayed that she wouldn't sweat despite the slightly cool evening.

"I think you look _great!_" Ray exclaimed.

"Yeah," Winston seconded, "like a million dollars!" Janine's eyes flew to Peter, daring him to contradict the other two Ghostbusters. For once, Venkman didn't have a retort ready.

"Well, I guess I'd better get the birthday boy," Ray told his fellow comrades. He got into ECTO-1 and drove off as the others went toward their reserved table, presents in hand.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The first thing the figure noticed as he woke up was that he was not inside any sort of room he thought had seen before. Just the same, there was a hint of familiarity about where he was.

_If only I could remember…_he thought. Before he could process his disoriented mind further, several voices loomed out of the haze.

_We remember you, _they intoned inside of his mind. He stared ahead, making out several specters of all shapes and sizes.

_What…? _He thought back.

_Hold him! _One voice screamed. He remembered that voice; it belonged to the Halloween spirit, Sam Hein. Something told him that although he couldn't remember too much, he better get out of where he was, _fast. _But as he tried to get away, he could not bring his legs and feet to move.

A thoughtcrossed his mind: _why can't I run? _He stared down at his feet, and saw two, black goat's hooves. His hands flew up to his hair. He felt long, straight hair; hair he knew was somehow straighter than his own, natural hair. The being who could not recall turned, and as he stared into a glass sphere, he saw a ghastly image reflected there. Bulging, yellow eyes with blood red pupils regarded him; blue hued hair, and a huge mouth with very sharp teeth completed the picture. He backed away until he saw a familiar face staring through the glass.

The figure had blond hair and blue eyes which had a slightly askew pair of red rimmed glasses over them. The long, oval face which usually wore a thoughtful expression was glaring at him with contempt.

"So, you are awake," a voice that sounded like the one inside his mind said.

The figure now started remembering with perfect clarity. He knew he was inside the containment unit. He now _was_ the spirit he feared above all else.

And, he was trapped with no way to return home.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Outside of the containment unit, the host body snickered. He moved his fingers and wiggled his toes, executing a karate kick. He knew not how he had become his greatest enemy, but he decided that this was the opportunity of a lifetime. As long as he didn't mess things up, he could live on that which nourished and satisfied him the most until the transferral was permanent.

"Egon!" a voice called from downstairs. "You up there?"

It took him a second to process that that was _his_ name now, and that the voice that had called belonged to his one of other nemeses, Raymond Stantz.

"Yes, Ray?" he answered in his now-deep baritone. Ray walked downstairs, his tweed jacket in his hand.

"There you are!" Ray told him. "We've got a free-floating, full repeater at the Science Museum! We've gotta deal with that pronto!" Ray went to his locker upstairs and grabbed his beige colored uniform.

"Egon" tried to hide his frustration that he would not be able to deal with this idiot scientist here and now, but it would not do to let Ray and the others know about his condition yet. He was still too vulnerable, and there was much to do.

Inside the containment unit, the transposed being tried desperately to contact Ray, but no sound or thought came out that the titian haired scientist could hear. His now-sharper hearing picked up Ray as he moved about upstairs.

_No! _His mind screamed. Sam Hein and the other spirits advanced on him. The trapped entity realized he had no choice: he would have to fight his way free and buy some time until the others could be warned. But how? He cast his thoughts toward a possible means to fend off the other spirits, then grinned as he suddenly realized something. Channeling his mental prowess into one massive attack, he roared, projecting images onto the other ghosts of that which they feared the most. The lesser spirits withdrew as they saw impressions of the Ghostbusters trapping and containing them.

"Arrgghhh!!" Sam Hein screamed. He managed to block the assault, but the damage was significantly draining him. The now-Boogeyman switched to the thing that the ghost with the Halloween Jack O'Lantern's head feared the most: the day after All Hallows Eve. As images of the houses of worship and acts of kindness and decency filled Sam's mind, he dissipated and retreated to another side of the prison they were in.

Sam's attacker felt the most delicious surge of power just then, so heady that the now-Boogeyman forgot for a moment who he really was. He concentrated on the task at hand; somehow, he had to find a way back to his own body, and at the same time, repel whatever part of the Boogeyman he sensed was inside.

Upstairs, Ray had finished getting dressed when he noticed that Egon had not moved or gotten suited up.

"Hey, Egon, what gives?" he asked. The partial human knew he'd better make his story plausible.

"There's something I must do here before I catch up," he told Ray.

"But…" Ray started protesting. "I really, really, think you should go with me! This is a big, huge…thing! It's bigger than Gozer!" Ray knew he was sounding lamer by the second. If Egon really had an emergency inside of the firehouse, how would he get his friend to the Science Museum?

"It won't take long," the metallurgist heard Egon saying. "I promise I'll meet you within one hour, okay?" Ray frowned, but he realized that if he were too insistent, he might accidentally reveal the birthday surprise.

"Okay," he said, preparing to get into ECTO-1 and break the news to the others. Slamming the door, Ray drove off.

After he left, Childrense, who had witnessed the exchange, drifted over to the blond being. Although he was glad that there had been a partial exchange of personalities, The Monster Under the Bed knew that he had to do whatever it took to free his friend completely.

"Egon's" eyes darted toward the black mist. "You?" he asked. "You set me free?"

Childrense spoke inside his mind, _I did. I thought we could have a night on the town to celebrate your new birthday!_

_How considerate of you, _Egon-Boogey thought back sarcastically. He was never overly fond of Childrense, but he had tolerated his presence when he needed another specter to generate enough fear from the children they terrorized for both to feed on. At least, Childrense had provided a chance to attain what the Boogeyman had always craved: the humiliation and subjugation of Egon Spengler, and the eventual demise of the Ghostbusters and all they cared for at his hands.

_Where shall we hit first? _Egon-Boogey asked.

Childrense thought about the boys who had visited the firehouse earlier. Their dimensional signatures were still strong from their earlier presence there, and the bed monster knew where to find them.

_Leave that to me! _He said. Egon-Boogey concentrated, turning incorporeal. He drifted with the black smoke and floated away.

As he had come out of the kitchen, Slimer had seen the beings drift. The little green ghost scratched his head, murmuring, "Egon?" He floated upstairs and saw the CTM and its dial. Spying the green ectoplasmic goo on the machine, Slimer floated closer.

"Uh-oh…" Slimer said. The green ghost wasn't a scientist, that was for sure, but he knew something was wrong. He needed to reach the guys, and fast. Willing himself to be transparent, he floated to the Science Museum.


End file.
